X-ray-proof glove



March 2, 1943. M. LUBow X-RAY PROOF GLOVE Filed OCT.. 17, 1941 INVNTOR.

Mae/.5* a@ ow.

ATTORNOYS.

March 2, 1943. M LUBQW 2,32,921

X-RAY PROOF GLOVE Filed Oct. 17, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Ez-G.

Cr a /gg @Gil/ Patented Mar. 2, 1943 X-RAY-PROOF GLOVE Morris Lubow, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Wolf X-Ray Products Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 17, 1941, Serial No. 415,363

(Cl. Z50- 108) 10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in gloves of the kind used by the operators of X-ray apparatus to shield their hands against the effects of the X-rays during the use of the apparatus.

Heretofore, X-ray proof gloves have proven unsatisfactory, for they are made of lead impregnated rubber of a thickness of substantially one-sixteenth of an inch thick, provided with an inner fabric lining and an outer leather covering. The above mentioned thickness is essential to carry the amount of lead necessary for producing a safe ray-proong material. This construction is stiff and prevents the free and easy flexing of the fingers of the glove, which is essential to the comfort of the wearer and to the tight gripping of articles picked up by the glove. Thus, the thickness of the lead impregnated glove body is necessary for protective purposes, and it is the purpose of this invention to retain the safe protective thicknesses of the walls of the lead impregnated glove body, while reducing the stiffness thereof to render the same more flexible and responsive to the natural movements of the fingers of the hand of a wearer.

Another feature of the invention resides in an X-ray proof glove in which the required protective thickness of lead impregnated rubber is divided into two thicknesses which are in free contacting engagement except at their outer edges where they are secured together. By reason of the free contact of the rubber plies or thicknesses throughout substantially their entire surfaces, the rubber glove body is rendered more flexible than if the rubber were of a single thickness equal to the combined thickness of the two plies.

A further feature of the invention is to provide an X-ray proof glove in which the needle holes caused by stitching the impregnated rubber plies together are covered by lead impregnated rubber binding tape, as Well as other adhesively connected joints, to prevent the penetration of the X-rays through the needle holes, and to strengthen the glove at the joints.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an X-ray proof glove which is simple and inexpensive of construction, easy tol put on and take off, and capable of long life.

Other novel features of the invention will become apparent as the following specification is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which,

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the finished X-ray proof glove constructed in accordance with the invention, with a portion of the outer covering broken away to expose a portion of the inner glove unit.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the inner lead impregnated rubber glove body.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, the outer leather covering being illustrated in dot and dash lines.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 taken through one of the rubber glove iingers on the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view ofthe trank from which the lead impregnated rubber glove body is constructed, one of the corners of the trank being folded back to disclose the several plies of material from which it is constructed.

Figure 6 is an lenlarged detail vertical sectional view on the line 6--6 of Figure 5.

Figures '7 and 8 are plan views of the blanks from which the back of the second and third fingers are formed.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the blank from which the thumb of the ray-proof glove is formed.

Figure 10 is a rear view of the inner lead impregnated glove body with a portion broken away.

Figure 11 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view on the line II-II of Figure 10..

Figure 12 is an enlarged detail sectional vieu1 on the line |2-I2 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, and at present to Figure 1 of the drawings, |0 designates my improved X-ray proof glove in its entirety, and which broadly includes an inner lead impregnated glove unit or element I I, as shown per se in Figure 2, and which is enclosed within an outer leather glove element I2. The glove I0 is provided with the usual four ngers and a thumb, and is of a length to cover the hand, wrist, and a portion of the forearm of the wearer in order to protect these parts against harmful effects of X-rays. Gloves of this type are worn by X-ray operators and physicians in the operation oi X-ray apparatus, and the administering of X-rays to a patient.

The inner glove element or unit H is constructed from a trank, shown in plan in Figure 5, and which trank is designated A. The trank A consists of a plurality of sheets of lead impregnated rubber, two of which are shown, the inner sheet being designated I3, and to one side of the sheet I3 a fabric lining sheet I4 is adhesively secured as at I5, although the lining may be stitched to the sheet I 3 if desired. Disposed against the other side of the inner lead impregnated rubber sheet IS is an outer lead impregnated rubber sheet I6. The lead impregnated sheets i3 and I6 are of the same thickness and are substantially ee of an inch thick each, making a total thickness of lead impregnated rubber amounting to 9 6 of an inch. Heretofore, it has been the practice to use a single ply of lead impregnated rubber of ile of an inch thick, for it has been proven that such thicknesses of the rubber is essential in a material of this kind to supportv the amount of lead required to prevent the passage of X-rays. It is a known fact that a sheet of X-ray proof material le inch thick should, for safety purposes contain .5 millimeter of lead through the thickness of the rubber, and I employ two sheets of such ray-proof material, each of -f inch, each sheet containing approximately .3 millimeter of lead throughout the thickness of the rubber. will be understood that thetrank A is cut tothe shape shown in Figure 5 from the plies t3, It, and l5, when they are in superposed relation. The front trank section B is slit as at l? to receive the thumb member presently to be described. The trank A is divided when folded onthe fold line I8 into the front glove section B and a rear glove section C, the fold line extending the length of the trank midway of its sides. The fro-nt glove section B is provided with four finger portions I9,

I ed, leb', and i90, the iirst and last iinger por-A tions I9 and ISC being complementary withv the first and last ringer portions and Eta respectively of the section C so as to meetl when the trank A is folded upon itself on thel fabric lining side. such side being shown Yup-in Figure 5.

The rear glove section C has only the two rear finger portions 2G and 20a integraltherewith, and the same are slightly wider andlonger than their related front iingerportons I 9 and ISC to provide additional material suiiicient to provide open fingers when they are brought together and stitched as best illustrated in Figure 4, and which added material isrthe equivalent to the fourchettes of` an ordinary glove.v The second and third finger portions are respectively designated 2Gb and 2de and the blanks from which they are constructed are of the same thicknesses of lead impregnated rubber and fabric as the trank and are shown in Figures '7 and 8. The rear iinger portions 2th and 29e are related to and are respectively connected to the front ringer portions I9b and I9@ when the glove is completed. However, before the trank is folded upon-itself on the dotted line I8, the bottom ends of the finger por-'- tions Zeb and 2te which are reduced in width, are. placed in lapping relation with respect to the edgev cured together as at 32, as illustrated in Figurev 11. Afterr the iinger portions 26D and 253e are adhesively secured to the rearV section C, a strip of lead impregnated rubber tape 33 is applied over the jointto provide additional ray proof protection and strengthen the joint between these parts.

A thumb member 22 is inserted through the opening I'I from the inside of the trank and is constructed and secured in position in a manner now to be explained. The thumb member 22 is constructed of a single blank D shown in Figure 9 and which is cut kto double thumb shape as shown. The thumb blank D is constructed of two plies of lead. impregnated rubber I 3a and I6a, and an inner lining of fabric Elia, and the inner side of the blank along its lower edge is scived to provide a beveled attaching edge 34. The blank D is folded inwardly upon itself along the medial dotted line 35 and the top and side free meeting edges are stitched as at 2t. A protective and strengthening strip of lead impregnated rubber tape 2t is applied to the stitched edges as illustrated in Figure 2. The scived portion 313 is applied to a mating scived portion 35 provided on the front section B about the edge `of the opening Il on the inside thereof and these meeting scived portions are adhesively secured together by cement 25. The cemented joint is i strengthened and protected by a strip o-f lead impregnated rubber tape 2b which overlaps the and the corresponding edges of the fingerV por' tions 2d, 2te, Zeb, and Eea, respectively. Thus,'it will be seen that the lead impregnatedA rubber sheets I3 and E5 of the front and rear sections B Y, and C are secured together only along their outer edges whereby these sheets are free substantially over their entire areas in order to render the rub-- ber glove unit II more fiexible than if4v the lead impregnated rubber were one sheet of of an inch.

The stitching 2l leaves needle holes in the front and back sections of the glove, through which needle holes, X-rays may pass. However, the needle holes are sealed by a single lead impregnated binding strip 26a which is adhesively se-A cured to` the outer rubber sheet I6 adjacent the respective free stitched edges. The binding strip 2M is of a width to overlapthe stitching on both` sides of the edges as best illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings. produce the lead impregnated rubber glove unit l I which is provided with a hand entrance opening 2 where the edges of the several sheets of material are left free. Y

r)The outer leather glove covering l2 is constructed similar to a conventional leather glove and is provided with four fingers 28 and a thumb 29. The outer glove covering I2 is of a. size to snugly receive the rubber glove element EI, and the glove element il is inserted into the outer glove covering l 2 with the fingers and the thumb member of the element i! extending into the` corresponding fingers 2S and thumb 29 or" the.

outer leather glove element I2. After the element Ii has been inserted into the element I2, the two elements are stitched together as at 30 adjacent the hand entrance opening to prevent separation of these two glove elements. However, it will be noted that the rubber. glove element Il is free within the corresponding parts of the glove element I2, their only point of con-- nection being at the hand entrance opening where they are secured by the stitching 39.

By reason of the novel construction set forth above, there is produced an X-ray proof glove which is relatively fiexible due to the construction of the inner lead impregnated rubber glove element i I being made of a plurality of relatively thin thicknesses of material rather than from a. single relatively thick sheet of lead impregnated The operations just described` rubber. By'reason of increasing the flexibility of a glove of this construction, it is possible for the wearer to more freely flex the fingers o1' the glove to facilitate thejhandling of articles when the wearer is subjected to the harmful rays of an X-ray apparatus. Also, the method herein' shown and described permits the inexpensive manufacture of an X-ray proof glove.

yWhereas I have specifically mentioned two plies of relatively thin impregnated rubber are used in the making of the rubber X-ray proof glove, the same may be made of additional plies, providing the relative proportion of lead to the thickness of the rubber is adhered to in order to render the vmaterial vimpervious to X-rays. Also, the finger portions 20h and 20c and thumb member D may be stitched to the back section C in lieu of being adhesively secured, in which instance, the covering of lead impregnated tape will also act to seal the needle openings left by the stitching operation.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the most practical embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such changes in construction as come within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to if desired.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An X-ray proof glove comprising a trank constructed of lead impregnated rubber folded lengthwise upon itself to provide front and back glove sections, stitching flatly securing the free corresponding side edges and free finger edges of the folded glove sections together, and a lead impregnated rubber binding strip folded over the stitched edges and stitching and adhesively secured to adjacent portions of the front and back glove sections for ray-proofing the needle openings in the sections caused by stitching.

2. In an X-ray proof glove constructed of flexible X-ray proof material, a front glove section having four front finger portions and a thumb opening, a rear glove section integral with the front glove section along one of its sides and having spaced first and fourth finger portions integral therewith which are disposed in opposed relation to the first and fourth front finger portions and being of a width and height slightly greater, second and third rear finger portions secured to the top edge of the rear glove section and being disposed in the space between the rear first and fourth finger portions, and being slightly wider and longer than the opposed front, second and thirdiinger portions, a thiunb member extending outwardly through the thumb opening and having its lower edge secured to the front glove element adjacent the edges of said thumb openinglines of stitching securing the meeting side edges of the front and rear glove sections together and securing the free meeting edges of the front and rear finger portions together, and flexible X-ray proof tape extending about and folded over the stitched edges and secured thereto to seal the needle openings therein.

3. In an X-ray proof glove as set forth in claim 2 in which the lower edge of the thumb member and adjacent edge of the front glove element about the thumb opening are scived, an adhesive substance securing the scived edges of the thumb member and thumb opening together, and a strip of X-ray proof tape overlying the glove element and adhesively secured thereto to ray-proof and reinforce said joint. v

- 4. In an X-ray-proof glove as set forth in claim 2, including a strip of X-ray proof material overlying the outer side joints between the second and third front finger portions and the rear' glove element and adhesively secured theretoy for ray-proofing and reinforcing the said'jointsiv 5. The method of making an X-rayproof glove which consists in applying a fabric lining sheet' to one side of a sheet of lead impregnated rubber and adhesively securing the same thereto, applyinga. second sheet of lead impregnated rubber fiat against' the other side of the first sheet of rubber, cutting the two rubber sheets and lining sheet to provide a trank, folding the fabric lining side of the trank upon itself on a medial line lengthwise thereof, and securing the complementary free side and free finger edges of the folded trank together.

6. The method of making an X-ray proof glove which consists in applying a fabric lining sheet to one side of a sheet of lead impregnated rubber and adhesively securing the same thereto, applying a second sheet of lead impregnated rubber fiat against the other side of the first sheet of rubber, cutting the two rubber sheets and lining sheet to provide a trank, folding the fabric lining side of the trank upon itself on a medial line lengthwise thereof, and securing the oppositely disposed free side and free finger edges of the folded trank together by lines of stitching, and sealing the needle openings caused by stitching with lead impregnated rubber.

7. The method of making an X-ray proof glove which consists in providing an inner X-ray proof glove member, the successive steps of which consist of adhesively securing a fabric lining sheet to one side of a sheet of lead impregnated rubber, applying a second sheet of lead impregnated rubber fiat against the other side of the first sheet of rubber, simultaneously cutting the two rubber sheets and lining sheet to provide a trank having a front glove section and a rear glove section, slitting the front glove section, setting an inner fabric lined X-ray proof thumb receiving element into the slit and securing the same to the front glove section adjacent the edges of joint between the thumb member and the front the slit, folding the fabric lining side of the front and rear glove sections inwardly upon themselves, stitching the meeting corresponding edges of the free sides and meeting free edges of the finger portions of the front and rear glove sections together, inserting the inner X-ray glove into a complementary outer leather glove, and stitching the inner X-ray proof glove and outer leather glove together adjacent the edges of the hand entrance openings thereof.

8. In an X-ray proof article having two separate complementary sheets of lead impregnated rubber, said sheets of rubber being superposed with their inner sides flatly abutting adjacent the corresponding free side edges, lines of stitching passing through the free side edges to secure the sheets together at the said side edges, and a binding strip of lead impregnated rubber of substantially U-shape in cross section disposed about the exterior of the side edges and overlying the lines of stitching on the outer sides of said sheets, and an adhesive connection between the binding strip and the outer sides of the sheets for securing the binding strip thereto to effect a reenforcement of the edges of the sheets and X-ray-eproof the .holes therein :caused by rsaid.

stitching.;

'9. .An X-rayrproof glove having :a hand .'po'rtion and 'a forearm portion constructed from :a trank comprising .two 2relatively thin like plies of lead impregnatedsheets :of rubber, said :trank being folded upon itself `with the opposed corresponding side edges :in 'a1inement, stitching flatly securing the free alined :edges o'f the trank together, and a iead impregnated rubber binding strip folded over the stitched edges and vstitching andadhesi-vely secured to Aopposite sides of the folded trank to ray-proof the needle openings in the trank caused by the stitching. r

.10. X-ray proof @glove including ycomplementary V'front and backglovewsections l-integ-ifai'ly rubber, said'front and back glove sections'hai/ing corresponding -fmger portions 'provided lwith :free

alined edges, stitehing securing the free -a11ined edges lof the glove sections atly together and the free 'finger portion edges flatlyt'og'et'her, la'ni a Alead impregnated rubber `binding strip ofI U-shape in c'rosslsection overlying vthe stitching and `adloesively secured to adjacent edge pfortions of the front Aand back glove sections.

VVMOR-RIS LUBOW. 

